Police blow £660,000 on pop music for officers

POLICE are spending £660,000 a year so officers can listen to pop hits on the radio at work.

The Metropolitan Police force, which covers London, spent £246,297 on PRS music licences

The money, enough to pay for 29 new recruits at a time when most forces are losing officers because of budget cuts, is being paid for licences from the Performing Rights Society under copyright laws. Among the big-spending forces is the Metropolitan Police.

It spent £246,297 last year for its PRS licence while Thames Valley Police paid £36,655 and Devon and Cornwall £26,790.

Last night, Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be amazed that so much of their money is being spent on licences merely to allow police officers to listen to some music.

“Music licence rules should be reviewed as it’s deeply unfair that employers have to pay huge sums of money just for staff to tune into the radio. Ultimately, though, this bill should not be borne by taxpayers, as this is an easy way for police forces to save money.”

Taxpayers will be amazed that so much of their money is being spent on licences merely to allow police officers to listen to some music

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance

The huge sums being paid by police were obtained by a Freedom of Information request from Robert Foulds, clerk of Bramley Parish Council in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who was shocked by the amount being paid by public bodies to the PRS.

After discovering his parish hall would have to pay for a licence to play music, even discos, he decided to find out if the public purse was being squeezed in other areas and so decided to ask the nation’s police forces.

Other big spenders included Kent Police which spent £25,012, South Yorkshire Police with £24,943 and Surrey Police with £24,427.

He said: “I really don’t care if coppers do listen to music while they work but not at this huge cost, particularly when they’re forever whingeing about being strapped for cash. The £660,000 would pay for a good few bobbies on the beat.”

The money paid for licences by the 45 police forces contacted by Mr Foulds ranged from £127 by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary to the Metropolitan Police’s six-figure sum.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said licences from the PRS are a legal requirement and the tariffs paid reflect the charging structure laid down for organisations of the size of the Metropolitan Police Service.